Equipment cabinets are used for a variety of purposes. One such purpose is to house fiber optic equipment used as part of a fiber optic network. Such fiber optic equipment may include fiber optic racks, fiber optic patch panels, fiber optic trays, fiber optic cables, etc. These equipment cabinets may be set up indoors, outdoors (e.g., street cabinet), or underground, depending on the needs and services required. Some equipment cabinets have a one door construction and others have a multiple door construction (e.g., two door construction).
An equipment cabinet with independently operable doors may be needed for a variety of reasons, such as for security reasons. For example, it may be desirable to provide a first team with access to a first door and a corresponding first interior area of the equipment cabinet, and provide a second team with access to a second door and a corresponding second interior area of the equipment cabinet. Some equipment cabinets require minimum enclosure sealing capabilities to adequately protect the equipment (e.g., fiber optic equipment) housed within the equipment cabinet from environmental hazards or contamination. For example, one metric of enclosure sealing capabilities is the Ingress Protection (IP) ratings (also known as the International Protection ratings), which define different levels of sealing effectiveness against intrusion from foreign bodies (e.g., dirt, dust, water, etc.). The IP ratings are published by the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC), which is an international standards organization that prepares and publishes international standards for electrical, electronic, and related technologies. In particular, the IP ratings indicate the level of protection for solids (the first digit) and liquids (the second digit). For solids, the IP ratings include the following levels indicating the object size protected against: Level 0 (not protected), Level 1 (>50 mm), Level 2 (>12.5 mm), Level 3 (>2.5 mm), Level 4 (>1 mm), Level 5 (dust protected), and Level 6 (dust tight). For liquids, the IP ratings include the following levels indicating the object size protected against: Level 0 (not protected), Level 1 (dripping water), Level 2 (dripping water when tilted up to 15°), Level 3 (spraying water), Level 4 (splashing water), Level 5 (water jets), Level 6 (powerful water jets), Level 7 (immersion up to 1 m), and Level 8 (immersion beyond 1 m).
To provide independently operable doors and minimum enclosure sealing capabilities, equipment cabinets may include a face frame with at least a portion of the face frame positioned within part of an opening, but such a configuration may be cumbersome and limiting. For example, such a configuration may require an operator to work around the face frame, which may be even more difficult if the operator is trying to access something directly and immediately behind the face frame, such as for installation, servicing, maintenance, etc. Thus, such a configuration may limit the mounting design of equipment within the equipment cabinet to ensure easy access, potentially forcing a suboptimal design.
As a result, there is a need for an equipment cabinet with independently operable doors that facilitates increased access to an interior of the equipment cabinet while maintaining an environmental seal.
No admission is made that any reference cited herein constitutes prior art. Applicant expressly reserves the right to challenge the accuracy and pertinency of any cited documents.